Fruits traditionally consumed by Iranians on Yalda Night, which coincides with Dec. 21 this year, are aplenty and available at reasonable prices, the head of Fruit and Vegetable Sellers Union said.
Asadollah Kargar also told ILNA that watermelon, pomegranates, persimmons and citrus fruits have been supplied to the domestic market in abundance.
According to Hossein Asghari, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture’s agronomical affairs, 90,723 tons of watermelon have been supplied to meet the domestic demand on Yalda Night.
Mostafa Ahmadi, the head of Nut Sellers Union, said that there is no shortage of nuts in the market and prices are under control.
Ali Bahrehmand, the head of Iran's Confectionery Union, says there is going to be no shortage or increase in prices, neither for Yalda Night nor for Norouz holidays (Iranian New Year starting March 21, 2019.
“The raw materials for making pastry are expensive, but we haven’t applied all our expenses to our end prices. We have taken people’s purchasing power into account,” he said.
On the eve of the first day of the winter solstice, sometime between December 21 and 22, a nocturnal celebration is observed in Iran. The event, celebrated in the country since ancient times, is called Yalda, or Shab-e Chelleh where ‘chelleh’ in Persian means 40.
Yalda Night is celebrated 40 days prior to the Zoroastrian Fire Festival or Sadeh.
Yalda Night is a social occasion, as family and friends get together for an enjoyable night, eating, drinking tea and sherbets, and reciting poetry. Dried fruits, roasted nuts and seeds, as well as fresh winter fruits are served.
Pomegranates, watermelons, persimmons and medlars are must-have fruits. The nut mixture for Yalda has a sweet taste as opposed to that of Norouz, the Iranian New Year, which is often savory in taste.
Watermelon, Pomegranate Output Tops Local Demand
Iran has had abundant crops of watermelon and pomegranates this year and exported them.
In fact, Iran is the leading pomegranate producer in the world, according to Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture's Tropical and Subtropical Fruits Affairs Bureau Masoud Latifian.
The official expects 915,000 tons of pomegranates will be produced in Iran in the current Iranian year (started March 21) to register a 22% increase compared with the previous year.
“Last year (March 2017-18), close to 1,500 tons of pomegranates worth around $1.5 million were exported. Our main export destinations were Armenia, the UAE, South Korea, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Qatar, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Austria, India, France and Pakistan,” he told Mehr News Agency recently.
The main provinces growing pomegranate in Iran are Fars, Markazi, Khorasan Razavi, Isfahan, Yazd and Semnan, accounting for 25%, 11%, 10%, 10%, 7% and 6% of the country's total output respectively.
Pomegranates are cultivated on over 89,600 hectares of orchards across the country. Average production stands at 15 tons per hectare.
As for watermelons, latest data show Iran exported 569,974 tons of watermelon worth $106.42 million during the first five months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Aug. 22).
According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Iraq, the UAE, Turkey, Afghanistan and Oman were the main customers of Iranian watermelon during the period.
The Yalda celebration goes well into midnight. The anthology of the Persian poet Hafez holds a special place in this night, for the joys of love he lauds befit such a merry occasion.
The ritual was registered on the National Heritage List in 2008 and suggested for a global status on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2015, Mehr News Agency reported.
"Calls have been issued for countries to join and help strengthen the event," says Mohammad Hassan Talebian, deputy for cultural heritage at Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
Most countries that celebrate Norouz also share this ceremony with Iran.
According to Farhad Nazari, director general of the Office for Inscriptions and Preservation and Revitalization of Intangible Cultural Heritage, ICHHTO is preparing a multinational dossier for the inscription of the event on UNESCO’s list.
